directions to an actual italian restaurant
by dourako
Summary: mizael gets a job at a local olive garden (thanks to his roommate, vector) and although it might seem like a bad job, he ends up with a good experience. [for pepprcat - part of the zexal au swap event 2015]


A history major working at an Olive Garden. The thought itself was hilarious.

To be honest, Mizael hadn't been looking to work there. One night while going over his history notes, Vector, his roommate, had practically waltzed in to their dorm room, unceremoniously slapping a bunch of papers on Mizael's desk (spilling his notes in the process). "We need jobs," Vector said, walking over to drop himself unto a beanbag chair. Being a college student meant paying for things – a lot of things. Textbooks, food, the actual courses – Mizael had been getting by pretty fine on some scholarships, but it would be nice to have some money to spend on something other than books.

Sorting out the mess of papers Vector had made, Mizael quickly scanned over what he printed out. "Olive Garden?" he practically snorted, swiveling in his rolling chair to look at Vector. "Yeah! The pay is okay, but you can rack up tons of tips. Also, free breadsticks."

"_Free breadsticks_." Mizael repeated, almost mocking him. While the thought of it was appealing, he wasn't really a people person. Socializing with a bunch of customers all day and putting on his best smile sounded tiring. But, the tips sounded pretty good…

"You start tomorrow."

"Wait, what about –"

Vector smirked, reaching behind him to pull out a paper from his back pocket. "I got a job at Dick's."

"Dick's."

"You know, the sports store."

Noting by how Vector practically fell off the bed saying the store name, Mizael guessed he was working there just because of the name. Figures.

Looking over the Olive Garden job ad again, Mizael sighed. Well, here goes nothing.

* * *

"And over here is where you'll pick up orders. They're placed in numerological order, the lowest number meaning it was ordered first. You'll take them in that order. Any questions?"

Mizael's head was swimming with all the new information. He had been getting his orientation from the head chef, Rio. She was a tall girl with magenta colored eyes that could put fear in anyone. Her voice was soft but stern at the same time. Although she seemed older, Mizael guessed she was around his age.

"No, I don't. Thank you –"

"WATCH OUT!"

Before he could register what was going on, Mizael was falling, feeling a heavy weight on top of him. What the hell –

"ALIT!"

That was Rio's voice. Who was Alit? Groaning, Mizael opened his eyes to be greeted by bright emerald ones staring back at him. _Whoa_.

The man on top of him – Alit, by the looks of it – shot up and fell backwards, talking too fast for Mizael to understand.

"I'm so sorry, man! I slipped on something, I think, or maybe I tripped, I'm not really sure – but I'm sorry!"

Still shocked from being so close to someone, Mizael came to and shook his head. "No, uh… it's fine." It was really, really fine. Alit was a short guy, probably shorter than Vector (and he was small). The emerald eyes Mizael had stared into were surrounded by dark brown hair, falling into waves around Alit's face. His skin reminded Mizael of toffee.

Wait, back to Earth – Rio was talking.

"If you actually saw where you're going, this wouldn't happen as often as it does!"

Alit had gotten up by now, bowing and spilling apologies to both of them. Mizael stood up, dusting himself off and looking back and forth between Rio and Alit. While Alit was muscular and looked like he could rip anyone, he seemed to be as soft hearted as a teddy bear. Rio, on the other hand, gave off an icy aura that said 'don't fuck with me'. It was kind of funny.

Sighing and sending Alit on his way, Rio turned back to Mizael. "That was Alit. He's the bartender here. He's a bit… energetic." Mizael let out the breath he was holding and laughed a bit. "I can tell."

Showing him the exit of the kitchen, Rio stepped out in front of him to the actual restaurant. "There's another guy who shares your shift, but he's not coming in today. You're on your own for your first day." Mizael guessed she could see the obvious fear in his face, because she laughed and clapped him on his back. "Don't worry – as you can see, this particular location is very small. We never get a ton of customers that require more than 2, maybe 3, waiters."

The clock showed it was 8:46 AM. 14 minutes to opening time.

"Well, good luck. I'll be in the kitchen if you need me. But here's a tip – don't need me too often." The laugh in her voice said she was joking, but her eyes said something different. Mizael noted not to bother Rio too much.

One of his duties was to unlock the doors and basically get the place going. Flicking on all the lights, Mizael looked outside the glass doors. Looking at his wristwatch again, he saw he had 10 minutes left. Unlocking the main doors, he took in a deep breath.

It was opening time.

* * *

"Is that a tattoo?"

His shift had gone by quicker than he expected, and even though Mizael wasn't the friendliest of waiters, the customers had no complaints. He even got a nice tip from a little old lady who kept calling him a "fine young man".

Everyone was getting ready to leave, and while Rio had been taking off her chef coat, Mizael had noticed something on her shoulder.

Rio lost her composure for a few seconds, sputtering and her face reddening. He could hear Alit snickering from the other side of the locker/break room. "Rio's a big scary badass." he said, waving his hands and rolling his eyes mockingly. Rio huffed and shot him a glare, shutting Alit up.

"I forgot you're new, so you would ask questions about it." she said, folding the white coat and stuffing it in her bag. It had gotten specially dirty today, so it needed a wash. "Yeah, it's a tattoo. Wanna see it?"

Rio moved closer to Mizael, holding up her arm so he could get a good look at the tattoo on her shoulder. A jewel heart was surrounded by black swirled designs.

Before Mizael could ask what that meant, Rio had moved her arm away, pulling on her own jacket. "My biking gang. We call ourselves the Heartgirls after the name of the city, Heartland." She reached up to undo the hair tie on her high ponytail, letting her blue hair fall. It was really flippy at the ends, resting on her back. "I'm the leader."

Mizael opened and closed his mouth in awe, not knowing what to say. The head chef, leader of a biker gang. "Is it… dangerous?"

"Very. I've come close to being arrested, but I'd take it if it meant protecting my girls." Rio then smiled, a genuine smile, and walked over to the exit door. "Promise not to tell anyone? Nobody knows except you guys." Mizael nodded, absentmindedly playing with the buttons on his shirt. "Of course."

Before he knew it, Rio had left, leaving him and Alit alone. The rest of workers had left earlier, so maybe that was why Rio had felt it was okay to be open about her secret. The thought that she had confided in him with it made Mizael feel… happy. Sure, she was a bit cold and Alit was a bit weird, but their company was alright. Speaking of…

"I'm still sorry about this morning." Alit smiled meekly at him, moving a piece of his hair behind his ear. Mizael saw it was pierced.

"It's okay, it was an accident."

Alit nodded, smiling truly now, and walked over to put his hand on Mizael's cheek. "It wasn't all that bad, though. You have very pretty eyes, by the way." And then he walked off, leaving Mizael alone.

It was after Mizael had regained his composure and turned off the lights to leave home that he noticed he was holding his breath.

* * *

"Oh, you're here!"

Mizael looked back over his shoulder, and saw Rio greeting someone he didn't know. Was that…?

"Mizael, come here! This is Kaito, he shares your shift with you."

Ah, it was - his shift partner. Mizael walked over to shake his hand, and he got a good look at Kaito. His hair was all spiked up, kind of like a dollop, with teal-green bangs. It looked kind of funny. "Hey, I'm Mizael," he said, and Kaito didn't even try to fake a smile. "I know, Rio just said that." Okay then.

"If you hurry you can change before opening time." Rio said, grabbing the door handle to the kitchen. "Get acquainted, alright?" And then she was gone.

"So, uh…"

"I'm gonna change."

And then Mizael was alone.

* * *

"Break time!"

Mizael sighed and undid the top buttons of his dress shirt, pulling his hair up into a ponytail. It was particularly hot today, and he never did like warm weather. Alit was already lounging around in the break room, with Rio and Kaito coming in. There were a few other people around as well, like one of the newer chefs, Kotori, and a busboy who he didn't know the name of yet, but had black and pink hair. He and Kotori seemed like close friends, and were off in their own little corner chatting away. Anyone else was on their own shift.

"I'm so tired!" Alit whined, leaning back in his chair and chugging some sort of drink unknown to Mizael. Rio giggled and rolled her eyes, sitting down next to him. "You always are, then you drink your weird drinks and you're bouncing off the walls again." Alit laughed, leaning forwards again before he fell off his chair. "Just try them once."

Kaito was quiet, reading over a book, not even eating. He seemed really immersed in his own little world, the loud noise around him not seeming to bother him at all. "What're you reading?" Mizael asked, leaning over from his own chair to see. Kaito held up the book, and Mizael's eyes widened - it was a textbook. "You're studying astronomy?" Kaito nodded, going back to his book. "I like space, so why not?" Mizael expected for more conversation, but it never came.

"Hey Mizael! Try this!"

Mizael looked over to see Alit holding a cup of some strange fizzy drink, and he nervously looked over at Rio. She shrugged, "It's not alcohol or drugs or anything."

He laughed nervously before grabbing the cup and taking a temptative sip. It tasted oddly of… Monster? But there was something else in there, like Red Bull or something…

"Like it? It's one of my favorite combinations! Monster with Red Bull, with a shot of club soda." Alit practically glowed, hoping for a positive reaction. Energy drinks were never Mizael's thing, but this tasted oddly sweet, not bitter like other times he tried them. Alit seemed to have a true talent for mixing drinks then. "I do, actually. Very sweet." Alit grinned, looking over smugly at Rio. "Told ya he'd like it!"

Rio laughed, leaning her head on Kaito's shoulder, who didn't even seem to flinch. "Maybe he's a weirdo like you," and she stuck her tongue out at Mizael, telling him she was joking. Mizael shrugged, more immersed in the closeness between Kaito and Rio. Were they…?

"Oh! I have to get back a bit early to the kitchen today. Bye guys!" Rio suddenly shot up from her seat, pulling on her uniform and running out of the room, before coming back and kissing Kaito on the cheek. "Stay a while after work so we can go home together." she whispered, then ran out of the room.

"Are you guys dating?" Mizael asked, his voice coming out in a sort of awed whisper he didn't intend. "Yup," Kaito replied nonchalantly, flipping to the next page of his textbook. Alit snickered, sashaying over next to Mizael. "I still can't believe it and I've known them for months. She's so badass and tough, and he's… a nerd." Kaito shot Alit a glare, and Alit laughed even louder. "Come on, space boy - how'd you get her? Star trivia?"

"Why do you wanna know? Have someone of your own you want to woo?" Kaito smirked with a knowing look. Alit's face flushed, and he looked away. "Maybe…" he muttered, and Mizael noticed Alit's hand was resting on his shoulder, making him feel cornered. Kaito actually _laughed_, slamming his textbook shut and scooting his chair back. "I'll leave you to it then, Romeo," he snickered, proud that he had gotten Alit back for his "nerdy space boy" comment. He waved off-handedly to them both, walking out the break room. Alit must've not noticed he was holding Mizael's shoulder, because he actually tightened his grip on him. "Ow!"

Alit shot up in surprise, letting go of Mizael's shoulder. "Sorry!" He seemed to somehow always be apologizing for something, Mizael noted. Mizael shook his head, smiling at Alit. "It's alright – are you okay though? Kaito seemed to have touched a nerve." Alit's face reddened again, and Mizael found it strangely adorable. Wait, _what_.

"He thinks he knows something but he actually doesn't know anything!" Alit practically pouted, crossing his arms and letting out a huff. Mizael raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. "It's just… I just… you see…"

"HEY! BREAK TIME'S OVER!" Rio's voice yelled out from outside the room, stopping whatever Alit was about to say. It must've been something important, because Mizael saw his shoulders droop disappointedly. "Just tell me another time," he smiled reassuringly, patting Alit's back. Alit sighed, but nodded, begrudgingly going back to work.

* * *

"Oh, fuck."

Mizael glared from the small window on the double doors leading to the dining area, refusing to go outside. He could deal with him at school, in their room, anywhere but here –

"Are you gonna come outside or not?" Kaito said, opening the doors while holding a tray of food to deliver to a table. Mizael jumped and hid behind Kaito, who turned to look at him weirdly. "What's going on?"

"Just go and come back, quickly!" Mizael hissed, pushing Kaito forwards, almost spilling his tray. "Alright, just watch it! Geez!"

Mizael sighed, slumping back against the door. After a while, Kaito came back. "You better have a good reason for this, because I had to ignore a few people who wanted to order."

"My roommate. He's here, and I don't want him to see me, or he's going to embarrass the living hell out of me!" Mizael whined, grabbing Kaito by his shoulders. "Please, be his waiter. He's the one with the orange hair and shitty black jacket. His name is Vector." Kaito seemed to consider it, because he looked out the small door window and nodded. "What's in it for me?"

For Kaito? What could Mizael possibly offer that would please him? Mizael racked his brain for something, then suddenly remembered. "I have these passes for the astronomy dome I got as a birthday gift this year. I don't want them. You can take Rio along or something." Mizael knew he had him by the way Kaito's face practically glowed. "Alright, you've got a deal."

Walking back outside, Kaito spotted Vector, walking over to his table. "Welcome to Olive Garden, sir. May I get you started with an appetizer?" he said, pulling out a small notepad. "Where's Miza-chan?" Vector replied, leaning back in his seat. "Excuse me?" Kaito was caught off-guard, but moved in front of Vector's view. "Mizael. He works here, right? I was hoping to get him as my waiter." Kaito shook his head, tapping his notepad with his pen out of nerves. "I don't know anyone named Mizael, sorry, sir. Would you like to order, though?"

Vector seemed to give up, and he slumped back in his seat, nodding in defeat. "Bring me some spaghetti or something. I don't understand any of the other stuff you guys serve here." Kaito just nodded, silently writing down Vector's order and walking back to the kitchen. As soon as he put up Vector's order on the rack of papers for the chefs to look at, he was ambushed by Mizael. "What did he say? What did he want?"

"He was hoping to have you as a waiter, but I told him I've never heard of you before." Kaito said, walking over to pick up an order when he heard a bell ring. "You can't stay in here though, you've got to do at least something. Go help Alit in the bar – it's night time and it's always busy there at night. Don't worry, he won't see you." Mizael nodded, knowing that the bar and dining areas were separated by a cut-off wall. If he was careful, Vector wouldn't see him. He walked towards the exit leading directly to the bar, and peeked his head out. "Alit?"

"Mizael!" Alit shouted, looking over his shoulder with a grin on his face. "Shh!" Mizael shushed him, walking over to stand next to Alit. "I'm gonna help out here tonight, is that okay?" Alit nodded, reaching down to pull out bottles Mizael didn't recognize. "Sure! You can take care of normal orders, I'll handle all the mixes." Mizael watched Alit mix drinks for customers, who were in awe of all the twirls and throws that he did with the bottles. "Didn't know Olive Garden offered entertainment too." Mizael commented, resting his chin on his hand. Alit laughed, sliding the finished drinks to the awaiting customers. "It doesn't, but I like to add my personal touch to the job."

Mizael was about to ask Alit about what he wanted to tell him the other day when someone sat right on the barstool in front of him. "Miza-chan, honey! There you are!"

Fuck.

Pretending he didn't hear him, Mizael suddenly seemed to be really interested in the ceiling. Alit raised an eyebrow, looking back and forth between him and Vector. "Mizael, do you know him?"

"Sadly," he sighed. Vector snickered, resting his elbows on the counter. "Come on, I'm here as a customer! Don't be that way." Mizael rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. "Unless you want water, you'll get served by Alit."

"Water sounds wonderful, actually." Vector grinned, and he could've sworn Mizael growled at him. Turning back to a cooler full of bottled drinks, Mizael threw a water bottle at Vector. "Here." He was going to walk away when Vector waved Alit over. "Hey, you! C'mere!"

Alit, innocent and confused, didn't see Vector for the idiot he was, and gladly walked over. "Is there anything you need, sir?"

"Yeah, you're Alit, right? Mizael talks about you a lot."

Mizael choked on his own spit, wishing he had a breadstick to shove down Vector's throat or something. "Okay, that's enough, you can go home now -" But Alit _laughed_, and his cheeks were tinted the cutest shade of red, and Mizael totally forgot about dragging Vector out of here by his hair. "Does he? I talk about him a lot too."

Mizael just stood there, fists clutching the top of Vector's jacket as he was about to strangle him, and Vector smirked. "Oh, you do? Miza-chan here always talks about how 'the cute bartender' makes his job fun. It's nice to see the cute bartender in person, then." Mizael hoped this Olive Garden would suddenly explode or something. Alit just laughed.

"What are you doing!" Mizael hissed, but his threatening tone was useless with such a red face. "Giving you that extra push. Now, I can only afford this water so I gotta go. Ta-ta!" Vector said, actually waving to Alit, who, bless him, waved back. Mizael almost threw a bottle at Vector's head, but Alit's voice stopped him. "Did you actually say that about me?" he asked, giving Mizael a crooked smile. Mizael just stared, not sure how to find his voice, when a customer tapped him on the shoulder. "We'll talk after work, okay?" he said, hoping his voice didn't sound too quiet. Alit just nodded, and patted his shoulder. After work, then.

* * *

Mizael and Alit were sitting outside the Olive Garden, on one of the benches. It had closed now, and they were surrounded by city lights and sounds. They had agreed to talk, and had been sitting on that darned bench for at least 10 minutes without saying anything. Mizael decided to break the silence. "The other day, during break, what did you want to tell me?"

Alit pulled his hands out of his jacket pockets, fiddling with his nails out of nerves. "You know how Kaito said I had someone I wanted to… uh…"

"Woo?" Mizael offered.

"Yeah." Alit laughed.

"Well… you also know how I told Vector I talk about you a lot?" he whispered, almost breathless, his eyes looking everywhere but at Mizael. "Yeah, I talk about you too. You're a fun co-worker." Mizael said, but it seemed to be the wrong thing to say, because Alit turned to look at him with wide eyes, those emerald eyes that Mizael had looked into his first day here. "So, you only see me as a co-worker?" he asked, and Mizael noted Alit sounded _sad_. He couldn't possibly…

"What about you?"

"Huh?"

Mizael turned to look directly at Alit, his heart pounding in his chest. "What do you see me as?" Alit sighed, nervously rubbing at the back of his head. "You're… a co-worker. A really cute co-worker who I… well." Alit blushed, smiling softly at Mizael. "I like you."

Mizael didn't know how to reply, the far-off sounds of cars and people seeming to not reach the silence between them. He liked Alit too. A lot. He was fun to work with, and cute, and he always made Mizael laugh. But, words were never his forte, were they?

"Let's go out." he suddenly declared, standing up and holding out his hand. "What?" Alit said dumbfoundedly, staring at Mizael then at his hand. "Tomorrow, let's go out. I don't have classes, and it's Sunday." Mizael moved his hand closer, and Alit took it in his own. It was warm and soft, and he tightened his grip around it. "For now, let me walk you home. Okay?" Mizael smiled, pulling Alit up on his feet. Alit seemed to get out of his shock, because he grinned and pulled Mizael in for a tight hug. "Okay, sounds fun!"

Mizael and Alit smiled at each other, not saying anything, but knowing how the other felt. They were about to head to Alit's house when the rumbling of a motorcycle stopped them.

"Hey, lovebirds! It's about time!" Rio called out from her bike, helmet in hand. Behind her was Kaito, helmet on and clutching to Rio for dear life. "Where are you headed to?"

"My house," Alit called casually, unlike Mizael, who sputtered and tried to regain his voice. What the hell did she mean '_it's about time'_? Rio grinned, flipping her long hair back. "Glad that you finally came out with it!" she yelled.

Alit grinned, holding up his hand that was intertwined with Mizael. "Where are you two going?" he yelled back. "The astronomy dome! Kaito got us tickets!" she said proudly, waving the tickets in the air. "Hey, be careful with those!" Kaito squeaked, his first words of the night. '_Kaito got them, huh? Is that his story?' _Mizael smirked internally. Eh, it didn't matter - Kaito could gloat about his date, because Mizael had gotten a pretty great one too, it seemed. Maybe this Olive Garden job wasn't all that bad after all.

And the free breadsticks weren't half bad either.


End file.
